Guides / Year-End Tax Checklist

By NorseHorse. Updated October 16, 2026. General information, not tax advice; confirm your situation with a tax professional.

Most of your 2026 tax bill is already set, but a few things still have deadlines. Your tip records need to match what your employer will put on your W-2, the last estimated payment for 2026 is due January 15, 2027, and an IRA contribution for 2026 can wait until April 15, 2027. Work through these in order.

Before December 31, 2026: tips

• Reconcile what you reported with what you earned. Pull up your daily record of cash tips, card tips and tips you paid out to others, and compare it with the year-to-date reported tips on your latest pay stub. Cashout logs each shift's tips, tip-outs, hours and mileage, which makes this a quick check. If you need a format, use the tip log template.
• Catch up on monthly reports. If you get $20 or more in tips in a month from one job, you report them to your employer by the 10th of the next month. Not reporting can cost a penalty of 50 percent of the Social Security and Medicare tax on the unreported tips. See reporting tips to your employer.
• Know where December tips land. Tips from December 2026 that you report to your employer on time in January 2027 aren't in box 1 of your 2026 W-2. You leave them off your 2026 return and include them on your 2027 return. January 10, 2027 is a Sunday, so the December report is due Monday, January 11.

Before December 31, 2026: your last pay stub

• Preview box 12 code TP. On your 2026 W-2, box 12 code TP shows the total cash tips you reported to your employer. Your year-end reported tips are the number to check now. Schedule 1-A lets you use either code TP or the tips on Form 4137, whichever is larger, so tips you missed reporting can still count, but you'll pay the tax and risk the penalty on them. More in W-2 box 12 code TP.
• Check overtime closely. Box 12 code TT will show qualified overtime, and for 2026 you can't deduct more than that code shows. If your employer takes a tip credit, overtime should be figured on the full minimum wage, not your cash wage. Run your hours through the tipped overtime calculator, and raise a mistake with payroll now, before W-2s go out. After that, the fix is a corrected W-2 (Form W-2c), and if the employer won't issue one you lose the deduction on the missing amount. See no tax on overtime.
• Your job code. Box 14b of the W-2 will show your Treasury Tipped Occupation Code. If payroll can tell you what they have on file, confirm it matches the job you do.

Before December 31, 2026: driving and side work

• Close out your mileage log if you drive for self-employed work such as delivery apps. The business rate is 72.5 cents a mile for January 1 to June 30, 2026 and 76 cents from July 1, so total your miles separately for each half of the year. The mileage calculator does the split.
• Total your gig income. For 2026, Form 1099-NEC is required for $2,000 or more paid to you as a contractor, and Form 1099-K for payments over $20,000 in more than 200 transactions. Income below those levels is still taxable, so your own records are the full picture.

January 2027

• January 11: December tip report to your employer.
• January 15: fourth estimated payment for 2026. You generally need estimated payments if you expect to owe at least $1,000 for 2026 after withholding and refundable credits. You avoid the underpayment penalty if withholding plus on-time payments cover 90 percent of your 2026 tax or 100 percent of your 2025 tax (110 percent at higher incomes). You can skip this payment if you file your 2026 return by February 1, 2027 and pay the full balance with it. Pay through IRS Direct Pay, EFTPS, your IRS Online Account, or by card. The quarterly tax calculator and quarterly taxes on tips cover the amount.
• A new W-4 for 2027. Your employer won't lower withholding for the overtime deduction unless you give it a new W-4. The 2026 form's step 4(b) worksheet has lines for qualified tips and overtime, and step 4(c) adds extra withholding each pay period if you owed at tax time. If you claimed exemption from withholding for 2026, you need a new W-4 by February 16, 2027. The IRS estimator is at irs.gov/W4App.
• Watch for your forms. Employers have until February 1, 2027 to give you your 2026 W-2. Form 1099-NEC is due to you by January 31, which moves to February 1, 2027 because January 31 is a Sunday. When the W-2 arrives, check code TP, code TT and box 14b, plus box 8 (allocated tips, which aren't in box 1) and codes A and B in box 12 (Social Security and Medicare tax your employer couldn't collect from your pay).

By April 15, 2027

• IRA contribution for 2026. You can put money in a traditional IRA for 2026 up to the due date of your 2026 return, not counting extensions. Returns are due April 15, moved only if it falls on a weekend or holiday, and April 15, 2027 is a Thursday. The 2026 limit across all your traditional and Roth IRAs is $7,500 ($8,600 at age 50 or older), or your taxable compensation if less. Tips count as compensation. If you contribute between January 1 and April 15, tell the IRA provider the contribution is for 2026.
• File or extend. The first-time filing guide covers the steps, extensions and penalties.

State items

• Check your state's rules. States decide for themselves whether to follow the federal tips and overtime deductions. The No Tax on Tips calculator shows how your state treats tips for 2026.
• Look for state-only deductions. Alabama, for example, lets you deduct the overtime premium on your state return for 2026 through 2028, up to $1,000 per taxpayer, whether or not you itemize.
• State estimated payments. If you make federal estimated payments, check whether your state expects its own and when the last one is due.

Common questions

When is the fourth quarter estimated tax payment due for 2026?

January 15, 2027. You can skip it if you file your 2026 return by February 1, 2027 and pay everything you owe with it.

Can I still contribute to an IRA for 2026 after December 31?

Yes. A traditional IRA contribution for 2026 can be made until April 15, 2027. Extensions don't push that date back.

When will I get my W-2 for 2026?

Employers have until February 1, 2027. If yours is late or code TP or TT looks wrong, ask payroll first. A corrected W-2 (Form W-2c) has to come from your employer.

Do December tips go on my 2026 or 2027 taxes?

If you report them to your employer in January 2027 by the deadline, they go on your 2027 W-2 and your 2027 return.

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